All posts tagged: swatches

Big in Japan: Drugstore Finds, Part I

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One of my favorite places to look for makeup in Japan was your regular ol’ Japanese drugstore. Before leaving, I made a list of things to check out at the drugstore. After a few trips here and there, I’ve found some of my favorite ones (so far). The thing is: the selection at the drugstore is so massive, but it’s so hard to come across a product that sucks. Here are some of the ones I got myself, nevertheless! I decided to just do quick reviews and split them into three or four parts. I’ll save the massive reviews for the more expensive items I ended up getting. 🙂 Lavshuca Dramatic Memory Rouge Lipstick in RS-1 Oh, Dramatic Memory Rouge, how I wanted to hoard you. I saw these first at Kate’s swatch post, and they were on the top of my list to try. I have never owned a lipstick tube so frilly as this: Of course, I gravitated towards the deepest, rosiest shade there was. This is in RS-1, which is a rosy-plummy …

Make Up Store: In which I tried to resist but couldn’t

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I had no real desire to go into Make Up Store (That’s the name. Really.) when we first saw it being erected in The Podium, but I changed my mind when I learned it was from Sweden. I clicked around their website once and got interested in their Microshadows (eyeshadows, basically). And if you follow my other blog, I made a promise to myself not to buy anything that was not of the 4 items listed on the post. Obviously, I failed… but I’m just going to try again soon. 🙂 Maybe I should save it for another post, but I have cut out one habit that I feel makes me buy more stuff. This habit is: browsing makeup counters. I am now actively trying to only look at makeup in a physical store with an intention to buy something (a product I read about, want to try, etc.), and not to browse and end up buying 15 things by “just looking.” But there, that is not a part of this post. Anyway, I finally …

Drugstore Finds: Fanny Serrano Eyeshadow + a Bonus Blush

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Before I became really interested in makeup, my exposure to it was limited to trips to department stores and The Body Shop. The only brands I knew were drugstore brands, with the exception of some higher end brands like Chanel which ran a bunch of Rouge Coco ads I saw a lot on a trip to Hong Kong. Now, I prefer to buy a little bit more on the expensive side (because of overall quality), but every now and then I find that I can’t say ‘no’ to cheaper brands. My mom’s been a fan of Fanny Serrano’s makeup, especially the eyelash curler which is reportedly a pretty good Shu Uemura dupe. When I was on an eyeshadow kick, during which I bought two quads and a twenty-shade mineral set in one go, I couldn’t help but pick up a few of these. At Php 195 a pop (aka four grams), these are quite a steal. Fanny Serrano Eyeshadow Swatches, L-R: Beach Sand, Honey Glitter, Potter Clay, Mulberry Wine Beach Sand is the first shade …

Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura: Rouge Unlimited Lipstick

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One of my personal favorite Holiday 2012 Collections has been Shu Uemura’s collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld. I’ve reviewed part of my haul already (see: Prestigious Bordeaux Eye and Cheek Palette, Blackish Satin Purple Painting Liner), but now here’s a look at the three out of the four lipsticks I managed to snag. I got Celebrity Beige and Luxe Burgundy, while my beautiful sister Isabel got Mon Shu Red. Before all of the swatches and samples, I think we ought to take a moment to fawn over this limited edition collection’s super cute packaging. Is it annoying if I call it kawaii? Because it totally is. The top half, where the transparent cap goes, has the Shu Uemura logo on its silver body, with a bunch of red dots circling the perimeter. I love Shu Uemura’s transparent caps on lipsticks because it’s very very easy to tell what lipstick you’re reaching for with just one look. As for the bottom half… It’s Mon Shu Girl, the red-eyed wonder! I know some people (namely those who don’t …

Playlist: MAC Paint Pot (Rubenesque) & bareMinerals Satin Plum

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I lifted my makeup ban and got a MAC paint pot yesterday, which I had been meaning to for a while. Paint Pots are essentially cream eyeshadows that you can wear alone or as a base for your eyeshadows. I don’t know if they have other functions, but I think that alone is pretty cool in itself. I got it in Rubenesque, which is a beautiful peach bronze that has hints of rose at some turns. Anyway, I’ll review this some other time, but all you really need to know is that I really freaking love it so much. In the middle of uploading work stuff, I decided to play with my new paint pot and one of the shades that came with bareMinerals’ A Vision in Velvet, which let’s face it, really swatched pretty horribly. Not one to give up on underperforming things—and also things that cost me $80—I was eager to try and make a few looks with some of the shades. This is the first look I’ve tried in literally three minutes, …

Counter Swatch: NARS x Andy Warhol

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I dropped by the NARS counter yesterday and took a few quick swatches of their holiday collection, which is a collaboration with Andy Warhol. Sarie asked Robbie, the SA, to hold an Edie Set for me, but I wanted to look at some of the other products, too. The sets are rather pretty. The two collections that are not exclusive to Sephora seem to be available here, except for the polishes. TV Party, an orange shade, is the only individual polish that seems to be available in Manila. The Larger Than Life Lipglosses (Php 1450) are the first ones I swatched. In order, from the top: Viva, Penny Arcade, International Velvet, Candy Says, and Holly Woodlawn. The formulation is rather nice, though sticky. I was turned off by gloss a few years ago, and this is the first one I’ve tried—and liked—since “going off” of glosses. The Soft Touch Shadow Pencils are a tricky subject, something I’m willing to try, but perhaps not right now. Top to bottom, Calabria (not part of this collection, but …